Despite these common bonds, many say that the denomination in which one has been raised is of crucial importance to one's experience at Hillel.

"A lot of the Orthodox Jews have spent their lives living in relatively stable Jewish communities. They tend to be the most comfortable at Hillel," says Guy Maytal '97, a member of the Conservative minyan. "For people who are not as used to being in a Jewish group, it is hard to get involved at first."

The glaring absence of Reform Jews would seem to confirm Maytal's claim. The American Jewish community is about 50 percent Reform, while Reform members make up less than 10 percent of the Hillel membership.

Andorsky acknowledges this discrepancy but says it is the mission of Hillel to try to change it.

"I think there are a lot of Jews on campus that would be interested in a Jewish program but are not interested in Hillel," Andorsky says. "It is a problem every Hillel in the country faces. I don't want any Jew on campus not to feel welcome here. We're continually trying to come up with a program to fill the need that is out there."

Diverse Leadership

Many think that one way to increase diversity is by having a representative leadership, including Reform Jews.

Wexler says she believes that a more varied leadership could better understand the needs of all the Jews within Hillel.

"It would be helpful if the leadership were from a variety of backgrounds," Wexler said.

"But it is a problem of the chicken or the egg," she adds. "The people who are in the building the most tend to be the most involved, and these are the people who run, and rightly deserve to be elected."

But if participation leads to election, what accounts for the absence of Orthodox Jews from the leadership positions?

Some say that Orthodox and Conservative Jews have different outlooks on Hillel which affect their choices within it.

"Many of the Orthodox are people who have grown up in the Jewish community and see Hillel as a place to be, a group to fit into," Solomon says. "For the Conservatives it is more similar to an extracurricular activity, someplace that you go, something that you can improve or expand."

The appointment of Shoshana M. Cohen '98, a member of the Orthodox minyan, to the position of secretary has been seen by some as an attempt to provide more balance to the leadership.

"We noticed after the election that the three of us who were elected were all Conservative," Solomon says. "We were definitely conscious of appointing someone who could bring something we couldn't bring on our own, no matter how hard we tried."